Aligning DoD Program Management Competencies with the Project Management Institute Standards

Abstract

In 1990, the Government Accountability Office began publishing their high-risk series meant to review federal programs prone to waste, abuse, and mismanagement. Defense acquisitions has appeared in every high-risk list’s publication due to the tendency to miss cost, schedule, and performance objectives. In 2019, Congress passed the National Defense Authorization Act, which mandated every acquisition career field to realign their certification requirements to be based on the nationally recognized standards of an accredited third party. This study offers recommendations for improving the DoD program management (PM) training standards by providing traceability between the DoD PM competencies and the Project Management Institute’s standards for project, program, and portfolio management. The study elaborates on the extent of alignment, finding that 96% of the DoD PM competency elements align to PMI standards. Areas of misalignment identify opportunities to augment DoD PM training and highlight areas where DoD PM training deviates from industry standards.